Too Late For August Bloom Day, And Harbingers of Autumn

 Eriocapitella hupehensis hybrid  (formerly in the genus Anemone) 'Pretty Lady Emily'

I've been occupied with non-garden stuff, though it's been too warm (mid 80'sF) for much gardening anyway.  

The only activity has been early morning work to clear out the mass of Aloe camperi (a camperi that was a happy camperi) under and beside Grevillea 'Moonlight'.  Yearly, it put on a fabulous late spring show of flowers, but the open-growing clump was being used as nesting habitat by rats.  No option:  outta here.

That fabulous show back in May:

Hmm.  Maybe I should save a few rosettes.  Below, the little green tuft is what is left, still to be removed.  The Leucospermum may also come out, and the still small offset of monstrous Agave marmorata as well.  Not that I don't love a huge Agave, but digging it out from sloping ground in a decade is going to be too much.  There are solitary Aloes that need a place in the ground that will not create rat habitat, and likely won't need to be dug out in a decade.  By me, anyway.   

Slightly different angle Most of the camperi rosettes had draped down the slope, with spaces in between rats had filled with piles of leaves, twigs, branches, dried grasses, and...bird's nests?   

I also limbed-up and cut back the Grevillea a bit more.  New growth has sprouted from old bare wood in places.  Apparently it can handle quite a bit of pruning.  

Besides that task, summer flowering plants continue, though they are on the downhill side.  Some opening too late for August Bloom Day. 

Abutilon 'Davids Choice' finally managed to grow its way to the sun through the Hydrangeas.  No wonder David chose it. 

More buds on Protea 'Sylvia'.  Yay!

Still enjoying the 'Black Knight' Canna and its saturated red flowers. 

Hemerocallis and Catharanthus:

The favorite Agapanthus 'Graskop'(?) flowers are much longer lasting than other cultivars.  Nearly done, but still that indigo blue to admire a few days longer. 

Lobelia and a begonia seeded themselves under the pond filtration equipment and grew there all spring and summer.  A sweet touch of life in the gravel.   If you don't plant something, Nature will. 

Time to cut back some of the Leonotis.

 The Dahlias are starting to flop and mildew:

Still plenty warm enough to produce good flowers:

The neighbor's Crape Myrtle ('Muskogee', maybe?) is finally flowering.  I'm trying to recall, but can't,  if it was this neighbor, or a different one, who asked me what those trees were, and hearing what they were, why they would not flower.  Easy answer:  because you have them pruned at the exact wrong time of year:  right as they develop flower buds.  "Oh." 

 This year, no pruning, and voila!  But it might have been a different neighbor, or a previous one. 

This is a larger sized Crape Myrtle than my shrubby 'Dynamites'.  I can see maybe-'Muskogee' from the back garden.  Our Avocado, looking splendid, on the right.  Dusty roof in the foreground.

As the summer flowers wind down, we have our own Southern California harbingers of autumn (not leaf color).  Yucca flowers...

 Brief (a week or ten days) but glorious:

Drimia (formerly Urginea) maritima:

Just emerging Aloe reitzii, a late summer bloomer.  The dry brown appearance of the flower stem may be intended to fool herbivores into passing them by. 

Zephyranthes candida.  I split a clump earlier this summer and planted small groups of the tiny bulbs in different locations.   

Here they are basically evergreen, and add a sweet daintiness to September. 

The newly reclassified as Eriocapitella,  common name Japanese Anemone, cultivar 'Pretty Lady Emily'.  I moved several scoops of soil from the north side of the pond to a low spot by the Lomandra.  'Emily' somehow came along with the soil, and ended up growing partially around the Lomandra, happy in the shade of its arching foliage.  'Emily' has now pushed flowers up into the sun. 

Works for me.  This plant has wandered for years, appearing a foot or two away from where ever it grew the previous year.  That works for me, too.  It has not taken over (did I just utter famous last words?).

White flowers of the variegated Abelia add a bright touch:

A less happy harbinger of Autumn, wildfire smoke:

Not to worry for us on this one.  It's more than 30 miles away, and the Santa Anas are not blowing.    

Not a situation I want to end with.  How about a trio of bromeliads, happy after a summer of growth?

Better!